Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 17 Dec 2002

Vol. 559 No. 5

Written Answers. - Third Level Attrition Rates.

David Stanton

Question:

240 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Science the drop-out rate of students at undergraduate level at third level colleges in 2000 and 2001; his proposals to assist in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26821/02]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey)

The statistical information sought by the Deputy is not readily available. The most recent figures on attrition rates for third level education are the result of research carried out, at the request of my Department, by the Educational Research Centre, ERC, at St. Patrick's College Drumcondra, Dublin which published surveys of completion rates in undergraduate courses in the institutes of technology in 2000 and in the universities in 2001. In the case of the universities the average drop out rate was found to be 15% while in the case of the institutes of technology it was found to be 42%. It should be noted, however, that there were differences between fields of study in both surveys with the subject areas of computer science, engineering and science registering higher non-completion rates than the humanities and business studies. The Dublin Institute of Technology also conducted a similar study and shows an overall non-completion rate of 39.46% for the 1994 cohort of full-time first-year students.

A number of initiatives to tackle the issue of student retention is already being funded by my Department. In the case of the universities, the Higher Education Authority has allocated almost €1.95 million towards supporting a range of activities including the development of mentoring and study skills programmes, counselling services, information packs for new entrants, development of orientation programmes and life skills modules and the appointment of academic counsellors, access officers, school liaison officers and mature student officers.

Funding has been allocated as follows:

	2000	2001	2002	Total
	€	€	€	€
UCD	28,569	89,529	82,670	200,768
UCC	41,901	68,566	64,130	174,597

	2000	2001	2002	Total
	€	€	€	€
NUIG	20,316	53,202	55,753	129,271
NUIM	112,753	95,548	113,500	321,801
TCD	59,551	199,730	186,400	445,681
DCU	166,982	–	94,218	261,200
UL	106,658	104,118	143,810	354,586
SPD	–	25,395	30,000	55,395
Total	536,730	636,088	770,481	1,943,299

Additional measures targeted at improving the completion rates in information technology courses will be funded under allocations being made as part of the information technology skills investment fund.

In the institute of technology sector, the council of directors has established a national committee on retention with representatives from each institute to focus on "maximising success rates" for students. The committee has assembled a profile of current good practice in relation to retention across the sector and the profile has been made available to all the institutes. Since 1999, additional funding has been provided to the technological sector to address the area of non-completion. This funding has supported the appointment of retention officers and school liaison officers, provision of additional advisory services including counselling, academic support and career guidance, the establishment of staff training seminars, upgrading of orientation programmes and the expansion of mentoring programmes.

Further qualitative research published earlier this year by the ERC has identified possible causes for non-completion in the institute of technology sector. The evidence presented in the report suggests that a number of factors has a significant impact on retention including students' preparedness for college, their suitability to the course, students' experiences of courses and college, teaching practices and the degree to which an institution can promptly identify a student at risk.

Preparations for further research to explore the qualitative factors involved in the withdrawal of students from the university sector are under way. This research will draw upon the research carried out under the Higher Education Authority's targeted initiative programme, as well as the findings of the research in the institute of technology sector.

The findings and recommendations of the reports are being taken into account by my Department, the universities and institutes of technology with a view to strengthening existing initiatives and developing new measures.